


Love: Lost and Found

by MHJoker4Ever



Series: Another IF [3]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Recovery, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:02:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MHJoker4Ever/pseuds/MHJoker4Ever
Summary: What's there left to do when the world's ended, and everyone's still fighting over the scraps?How do you move forward from losing beloved friends? Losing the way life used to be?How can you help the friends you have left...?This will be a loose collection of glimpses into the post-AIF world... It's going to be updated irregularly, and it's not *necessarily* a strict tie-in with AIF/AIF:GD, because there'll be less of a stress on the harem aspect here. In regards to ships, this fic will be for those who felt disappointed in the harem route, and just wanted Naezono to flourish. I can't exactly please everyone in the main story, but for the sake of Naezono content, I'll set this aside to soothe the hunger pangs for it~Makoto and Sayaka are the main characters followed here, but naturally there's others to give attention to, as well. Let's see what we can do here~
Relationships: Maizono Sayaka/Naegi Makoto
Series: Another IF [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942276
Comments: 11
Kudos: 24





	Love: Lost and Found

Recovering one’s memories in one fell swoop is… not an experience that Makoto particularly wanted to relive. Not that the end result is bad… Just that it’s a really… really more intense feeling of like when you pop your ears after traveling to a different elevation. Because in the end, it’s not really anything he hadn’t known before… He just hadn’t thought about it for a really long time.

He was sure the others were undergoing similar experiences. Byakuya, for instance, must have felt way different, recalling the things he learned while in school with them after all that resistance and reluctance he put forth in the Killing Game… Celes might be a similar case, especially after what happened in the third murder – but he wouldn’t know for sure until she opened up later. She’d been the first to excuse herself, after all. Mondo and Chihiro appeared to be taking the memory recovery well enough , but he’d check on them later… after his own head was in order…

And Sayaka…

The luckster’s face heated up even before looking over her way. The memories he shared with her… This was why he needed some time to compose his thoughts. The intimacy they shared, that relationship they’d kept secret from the public… There were a lot of powerful emotions evoked by those memories.

For his part, Makoto didn’t want to get carried away. There was no doubt in his mind anymore… He loved Sayaka. They’d more than made up for the lost time in middle school; the idol was his best friend. They studied together, ate together, hung out together… They had their fair share of arguments; learning about the idol industry hadn’t been an easy thing for him, and he worried about her all the time. Similarly, she would sometimes have a bone to pick with how selfless he would get, to the point of neglecting his own health or wellbeing, and she never approved of the way he would look down on himself for being “ordinary.” Yet even when they disagree, they’d always find a way to make it up to each other… She was supposed to be too high register for him, but he’d fallen for her hard… And he knew she returned his feelings. Of course he knew that. He had their high school years, as well as the year they’d been in the shelter, to come to terms with that…

But even if he knew all that… Makoto wouldn’t force a past relationship on her. If she wanted to prioritize finding her friends and father, if she wanted to take up her idol career again, he’d support her all the way. Life was too short to…

The luckster yelped as he felt a pair of slender arms snake around him from the side, a head warmly resting on his shoulder. He wasn’t surprised in the least to see a head of blue hair out of the corner of his eye.

“S-Sayaka…?” Makoto gasped out a little, trying to not draw too much attention to themselves… But he really hadn’t been expecting that hug, and his heart was still racing, threatening to burst from his chest.

“You had that look again…” Sayaka mumbled into his shoulder, squeezing him tighter and massaging his back. “Didn’t I say to take better care of yourself?”

Makoto choked out a small laugh, a few tears escaping. Funny how he’d just been reminiscing on that argument…

“I told you, I’m fine… You’re the one I’m worried about! Especially after everything Junko did to us…”

Sayaka kept up the smooth, circular motions along his back, releasing a small sigh.

“We’ll never see eye-to-eye on this, I swear… Maybe it’s for the best. I’m not going anywhere, so you’re just going to have to put up with me.” She turned the luckster around to face her, resting her hands on his shoulders and looking straight into his eyes, unflinchingly. “Makoto. I’ve been in love with you, I always have been. There’s no point in wasting time, because things happen, and then it’s too late. The Killing Game taught us that. You should **know** that.”

Makoto bit his lower lip and averted his gaze. Of course he knew that. Sayaka had confessed to considering murder, in the first days of Junko taking over… He’d nearly lost her. Would have, if he hadn’t gotten through to her. Sayaka was in a similar boat – Junko faked his death, making her, and all their friends, lose heart…

He’d nearly lost her there, too. It was down to her or Mukuro… And thank God Alter Ego had saved Mukuro…

The luckster was snapped out of his thoughts again, this time because of a heat enveloping his mouth as a familiar pair of soft, moist lips connected. His eyes were wide as Sayaka’s were closed, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. This time, Makoto didn’t hesitate. He wrapped his arms around her waist and passionately reciprocated her love. This caused Sayaka to grin into the lip lock.

Eventually, all things must end. Their faces breathlessly parted, but they made no move to break up their embrace. Makoto felt mesmerized and lost, gazing into cool pools of blue that held so much warmth and love in them…

“… You’re right, I don’t want to lose you. I refuse… to lose you.” Makoto mumbled, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead to hers. “I just get caught up in your happiness, your wellbeing. But I see now, more than ever, what effect my death would have on you… I’m sorry I put you through so much heartache…”

Sayaka barked out a short, bitter laugh, hugging him tighter.

“I think my amnesiac self had pieced the important parts together, you know… That’s why I was so overwhelmed, Makoto. You were right there, and I wasn’t able to save you. Then my sin was exposed, a sin that would have got you killed by my own hands… The pain was unbearable… But you came back to me. You came back…”

Makoto pulled his head back and gave her the best reassuring smile he could. Both their faces were wet from fresh, relieved tears by this point. He chuckled weakly, overcome with emotion.

“Of course! Even if our memories were suppressed, I’d never abandon my best friend! I’m always going to find my way back. You’ve got a strong, wonderful scent! One I can’t get enough of.”

Sayaka belted out some broken giggles as more tears spilled out.

“Someone’s still the Ultimate Cheese… Don’t you ever get tired of being so sappy…?”

“I know you wouldn’t have me any other way.” Makoto grinned wryly, drawing her in for a deeper hug, her head resting on his shoulder again. “Since neither of us is going anywhere, we might as well make the most of our time. Let’s help the world get back on its feet, help our friends get their lives back, and then… who knows? Maybe we’ll find something to do, too.”

“… I really like that plan.” The former idol murmured softly, their bodies rocking back and forth as they remained huddled together, not wanting to let each other go just yet. She grinned with a pinch of mischief. “You did promise to help me find a new dream, didn’t you?”

Of course, Makoto being Makoto, he didn’t see that as a lighthearted joke to cheer them both up… That’s what Sayaka had been going for. But Makoto just took it as another opportunity…

“I did…” Makoto chuckled sheepishly. “I’m still going to. You won’t have to be alone ever again…”

Sayaka melted at that tone and those words…

_‘And he wonders why I’m so hung up on him… This dummy…’_ The bluenette released a contented sigh to try and slow down her happy, racing heart. … It wasn’t working. Out loud, she said, “Well, I made you a promise, too. I’m going to support you, and help you find a dream you can get behind, too! Guess we will be stuck with each other for a while.”

Makoto just smiled, holding her close. This was… a plan for the future he could get behind. He just honestly wanted to find a way he could help as many people as possible… For him, honor and prestige didn’t matter; he didn’t have to be top brass. It was reward enough, seeing people’s smiles… He’d be happy enough in an office setting, once they got the world up and running again.

… He was glad Sayaka wanted to be with him every step of the way, though. After everything with the memory loss and Killing Game, it was a bit like their love was lost and found… They’d nearly lost each other, more than once.

But they’d never take each other for granted again… That was a promise.


End file.
